News| May 18, 2021

Industrial Light & Magic’s (ILM) Jedi Academy in Sydney is going from strength to strength. In April, the first group of students celebrated their graduation from trainees to fully-fledged junior paint and roto artists with a visit from Stuart Ayres, Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney and Geoff Lee, Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education.

The newly minted VFX artists have spent the last eight weeks knee-deep in the intense training program that consists of a mix of classes and immersive learning. They have been introduced to discipline-specific techniques, to ILM’s proprietary tools and pipeline, and have also received training in key business skills that will see them transition seamlessly into professional visual effects artists. A second group of trainees have already taken their deep-dive into the second Jedi Academy program. 

Courtesy of ILM.

Partnership with the NSW Government

The visit was the celebration of a joint effort, as ILM is running its training program in Sydney in partnership with the NSW Government. The partnership will help create hundreds of jobs over five years in the growing PDV industry that includes post-production services like visual effects and animation.

“We’re delighted to be underway with our Jedi Academy program in Sydney. The NSW Government has been passionate about this initiative from the beginning, which helps us launch careers for a diverse range of local candidates, and help grow our studio’s capability while focusing on inclusion.”

Luke Hetherington, Executive in Charge, Industrial Light & Magic Singapore and Sydney
Courtesy of ILM.

Diverse talent

Paint & Roto Supervisor, Naren Naidoo was key in developing the Sydney studio’s first training program and has taught and mentored the students throughout. As well as augmenting the recruitment needs of the studio, the program has allowed ILM to open the doors to a broader pool of employees. 

“The Jedi Academy has enabled ILM to creatively hire and invest in artists who are at the beginning of their careers. Motivated and passionate individuals from all backgrounds are offered the freedom to learn and grow with a strong foundation that has proven successful across ILM’s portfolio of work over the decades. ILM’s curriculum and support has allowed our Jedi to hit the ground running from Day 1 of their transition into the live production environment.”

Naren Naidoo, Paint & Roto Supervisor, Industrial Light & Magic
All photos by Stephen Kadlec. © & TM Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Watch 9 News Sydney’s coverage of the visit here: https://fb.watch/4Lflp4J2pc/

Head over to ILM’s YouTube channel to see their skills in action!

CONTACT
Luke Hetherington
Executive in Charge, Singapore & Sydney ILM Studios
contact-syd@ilm.com
www.ilm.com

Featured Image Credit: All photos by Stephen Kadlec. © & TM Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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